Zeus
Zeus is the Greek god of honor, justice, lightning, the weather and the skies. He is the lord of Olympus and the son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea. History Zeus was the youngest child of Kronos, the Titan king, and his sister/wife Rhea. Kronos had risen to power by dethroning his father Ouranos and learned from his mother Gaea that he was fated to be overthrown by his own child as well. Determined to retain his omnipotence, Zeus' father consecutively devoured Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon at birth. Rhea was appalled by her husband's savagery and devised a scheme that would spare the unborn god from this fate. Secretly giving birth on Mount Ida, she quickly returned to Mount Othrys and tricked Kronos into swallowing a disguised stone instead. Raised by the nymphs, Zeus learned of his destiny and heritage from his mother when he reached adulthood. Rhea would often tell Zeus about his brothers and sisters, all of whom he was destined to rescue from his father's stomach. Zeus knew he would need the support of his imprisoned siblings. When Zeus grew to adulthood, he transformed into a Titanic version of himself, and (with help from Rhea) successfully infiltrated Mount Othrys by convincing Kronos to hire him as his royal cup bearer. Noticing Cronus' stomachaches, he waited till night before adding a powerful emetic to his nightly cup of mead. With Cronus putting his complete trust in Zeus, he took the drink, and became violently ill. He instantly disgorged all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All of them had been growing undigested in Kronos' stomach, being gods. Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and they all promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, all six of them happily reunited with their mother Rhea, who tearfully embraces all of her rescued children. Shortly thereafter, the gods accepted Zeus as their leader, and declaring war against their father. Fearing their lack of power or weapons to fight the Titans, Zeus decided to release his Elder Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheire from Tartarus. War against the Titans Knowing they had power and numbers on their side, Zeus and his siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying, earth shattering 10-year-long Titanomachy. The Titans initially had the upper hand, since they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years of the War passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed.While preparing for the final battle of the War, Zeus and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Orthys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys, finally overwhelming the other Titans and their allies. But the Titans had one more line of hope to defeat the Olympians. Knowing her children were in trouble, Gaea called forth Typhon, the father of all monsters. Zeus however had been bestowed with the power of lightning, and after a final confrontation, Zeus defeated Typhon, sending it back to Tartarus, the very place he would send his enemies. The prisoners were chained up, their forces surrendering and were destroyed. Atlas was condemned to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders for eternity. Finding Cronus, Zeus took his Scythe, and sliced him into a thousand pieces, before casting them all into Tartarus along with the rest of his followers who would serve their eternal punishments. Zeus tasked the Hekatonkheires to guard Tartarus and make sure the Titans would never escape. Marriage to Metis Zeus would take his childhood companion Metis to be his bride after the war. Metis had served the god as his advisor and mentor for much of his life. When his wife was pregnant, Zeus learned that their son was destined to surpass him. Like his father and grandfather before, he tried to forestall this fate and promptly swallowed both Metis and their unborn child. The goddess would give birth to a daughter named Athena who sprung from her father's head when she was fully grown. Marriage to Hera Zeus would take many lovers among goddesses and nymphs but never established another lasting relationship. He eventually turned his attention to Hera. Both beautiful and intelligent, it was only natural that he would be attracted to his sister but she refused to be another 'conquest' for the god. He applied his excellent singing, dancing, and joking skills to entertain and woo Hera, but she would not give in. Zeus would still not be dissuaded and cunningly disguised himself as an injured bird in Hera's presence in an attempt to seduce her. The sympathetic goddess took him in her arms and gently cuddled what she thought was a defenseless creature before Zeus assumed his true form in her embrace. Although she was embarrassed and outraged by her brother's deception, but was very impressed at Zeus' cleverness and resourcefulness nonetheless. Hera agreed to be his consort on the condition that he married her. Their wedding was held in grand celebration on Mount Olympus and they were both happy for many lifetimes. Zeus and Hera arrived on a huge golden chariot, steered by Eos (who illuminated the bride and bridegroom with brilliant rosy light), and the ceremony was lead by the three Fates themselves. Through her marriage to Zeus, Hera became the Queen of Mount Olympus and the Olympian Gods. Zeus and Hera received great gifts from all of their wedding guests, but Hera's favorite was a magnificent apple tree (with golden apples) that she received from Gaea. Hera had the tree taken far off to the west, and planted in a beautiful orchard. Hera tasked the Hesperides, the daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put a fierce one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides. Zeus and Hera had a number of divine children together: the war god Ares and the war goddess Enyo, Hebe, the goddess of youth, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and Angelos, who became an Underworld goddess. However, Zeus eventually became restless, and it was not long before he began the first of his many affairs. Hera was infuriated frustrated to no end by his infidelity, and devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the story of Heracles, whom she tried to kill repetitively. It was even more revolting in her mind that a number of these children would become Olympians, sitting in their own thrones on Mount Olympus. Appearance Zeus was tall, muscular and imposing, with long dark gray hair with a gray-and-black beard. Personality Zeus, as the King of the Gods, was very proud and commanding. He demanded respect and precedence from mortals and the other gods. He was a great enforcer of justice and law. He was at times extremely paranoid, as well as self-centered and easily insulted. If he thought someone was plotting against him or insulted him, he can be very unforgiving. Most notably, Zeus was extremely lustful, perhaps more so than any other Olympian. His rampant unfaithfulness to his wife Hera was very notable, and often placed his mistresses and even his own demigod children in dangerous situations all in attempt to hide his affairs. Zeus was also ambitious and lustful for power, evidenced by him being King of the Gods and having great fear of being overthrone. He also had great distrust for his brother Poseidon because he had once tried overthrowing Zeus from his throne. Being often viewed as a source of order and justice, Zeus maintained control over the other gods by preventing their feuds from getting out of hand and ensured the overall order of the world by handing down and enforcing justice, even if his actions sometimes contradicted it. Capabilities Zeus, being the king of the gods, held dominion over the earth. He was the god of lightning, able to control storms and the weather. The god of justice, he dealt punishment on mortals and gods who offended him and the gods. Names *Abrettenus: In Mysia *Aegiduchos: The bearer of the Aegis. *Aethiops: On the island of Chios. *Ambulius: preventer of death. *Anchesmius: derived from the hill Anchesmus in Attica Also Category:Navigation templates Category:Gods Category:Olympians Category:Children of Cronus Category:Immortals Category:Leaders Category:Kings Category:Weather deities Category:People of the Odyssey